When will flights resume out of the Northeast?

They're guessing that NY flight operations could resume sometime on Saturday, but that's not the same as a normal schedule. Boston will likely stay closed until at least Sunday. (Everything is shutting down at NY's three airports, as well as at Logan. Also, Amtrak service is being suspended from NY to Boston.) But it's not only the Northeast that faces delays or cancellations. Because airlines have been moving their planes and crews out of NY and Boston, schedules are all out of whack. I've seen cancellations out of LAX that do not involve Northeastern routes, so don't assume your flight to Denver or Chicago this weekend will happen. Actually, carriers have gotten a lot better in making storm preparations. From AP:

Once the clouds clear, flights won't start up immediately. When Superstorm Sandy hit the New York area, JetBlue's Rob Maruster, the airline's chief operating officer, equated starting up the airline again to putting together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. It's not about staffing levels, but an overall game plan that makes sense. ''At a certain point, putting more hands on the table doesn't help get it solved faster,'' he said. The airlines will need to ask a lot of questions before bringing in planes. First, are the runways open? Next, is there public transit to get workers to the airport? If not, does the airline have enough staff staying at nearby hotels that can be bused in? Finally, the airline has to check on all the other people needed to run an airport: the Transportation Security Administration, customs officials, caters, fuel trucks and even the people who push wheelchairs through the terminal.

Photo: Last three JetBlue planes leaving Boston.